Our upcoming webinar will provide a brief sociohistorical overview of Native Hawaiians and detail their social and cultural determinants of health. Dr. Kaholokula will review several empirical studies that elucidate the adverse effects of racism on hypertension risk and other related conditions, including psychophysiological processes. He will discuss the pathways by which racism leads to the development of chronic diseases
among Native Hawaiians and present preliminary findings on an intervention that is culturally grounded in hula, the traditional dance of Hawaiʻi, to improve hypertension management. Dr. Kaholokula’s presentation will illustrate the importance of culturally grounded interventions for improving clinical and sociocultural outcomes among Indigenous peoples.
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Keawe Kaholokula, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Native Hawaiian Health in the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist. His research involves developing community-based and culturally relevant health promotion programs that address inequities in diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. He also examines how biological, psychosocial, and sociocultural factors interact to affect their risk and management of these chronic conditions. Dr. Kaholokula’s research has led to systemic improvements at the local, regional, and national levels in healthcare delivery, clinical outcomes, and policy. His strong commitment to improving the health of Indigenous communities and achieving health equity is reflected in his service on the national level as past Chair of the Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health network and his recent appointment to the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. On a local level, he serves on the boards of organizations dedicated to improving population and Native Hawaiian health, including the Queen’s Health Systems, Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, and Papa Ola Lokahi Native Hawaiian Health Board. As a Native Hawaiian, Dr. Kaholokula is passionate about improving the social and cultural determinants of health among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and he has made a lifelong commitment to this goal.